The Best Materials for your Body Piercing

The best materials for your body piercing

We provide jewellery in all different shapes, sizes and designs – but one thing that is extremely important to us is making sure you don’t get a piece of jewellery which can cause you problems down the line.  That can come in the form of body rejection, inflammation or even infections, so deciding on what your jewellery is made of and which material route you would like to take should be based on clear information. 

New piercings: 

When you have a new piercing, the qualities of the material need to be optimised for healing. That means that at the start, you likely won’t be able to delve into things like wood, sterling silver and acrylics.  

It is recommended that new piercings only use jewellery which is Titanium, Surgical Steel, Gold 14ct/18ct, or some polymers which are biocompatible (PTFE/bioplast/bioflex). Sterling Silver or any plated jewellery should not be used.

The association of professional piercers offer up clarification and advice around these materials and guidance for professional piercers and consumers who are having a new piercing.  If your piercer isn’t using one of these in your new piercing, then you should make sure you flag it to them. 

Different materials available for your jewelley

There are many different options and jewellers have different preferences based on the material they use. 

Just in metal alone, you can be looking at jewellery made from: 

• Brass
• Aluminium 
• Bronze 
• Copper 
• Palladium
• Niobium 
• Platinum 
• Silver 
• Gold 
• Stainless Steel 

However, metal isn’t the only thing that jewellery makers lean towards when making jewellery.  There is a whole host of other materials which can be used, they include: 

• Wood
• Glass
• Shell
• Plastic 
• Rubber 
• Leather 
• Paper 
• Pebbles 
• Beads 
• Ribbon 

Nowadays it is possible to create such a wide spread of options.  This means that researching the pros and cons of different materials and how, for example, durable they are against other aspects such as price, style, sustainability and design. 

Here, we are going to focus on a few of the types of materials we offer with our jewellery and give you some of the pros and cons of each… 

Gold Jewellery 

Not only do we absolutely love the way gold looks in jewellery – but it is also one of the best materials for jewellery. 

Being incredibly malleable, it means it can be cast into different shapes, but is also hardy enough to stand the test of time, meaning the quality of your jewellery won’t diminish over time. 

It is worth mentioning the different levels of gold, or carats (Karats in the US).  The higher the carat, the less base metal it uses and the purer and more hypoallergenic the gold is. However, the higher carat means softer gold and in many cases a lower carat will be more durable and better suited to certain types of jewellery.

But gold might not be for everyone.  It is usually more expensive than others metals and can scratch, so it would need to be stored properly and depending on the amount of gold in the jewellery – ideally professionally cleaned every few years. 

At Midwinter Hollow, we offer plenty of options for gold lovers out there.  Check out this beautiful turquoise beaded gold nose ring – one of our best sellers! 

Silver Jewellery 

Silver is pretty similar to gold, in that it is highly malleable, making it a very attractive material for handmade jewellery like we make at Midwinter Hollow. 

Silver will also stand the test of time. It is high in durability and easy to care for which makes it the perfect metal for everyday wear. 

Here, we use sterling silver predominantly in our jewellery pieces. A lesser known fact is that some of our human oils can actually help replenish Sterling Silver, so regularly wearing it is also a way of cleaning it as well!  Also, sterling silver is actually stronger than its pure silver counterpart. 

We stock a large range of Sterling Silver jewellery at our store, the perfect accompaniment for any occasion.  

 

Surgical Steel Jewellery 

Surgical steel jewellery is fast becoming a popular mainstay in the jewellery world.  It is less expensive than gold and silver – but its uses spread through to the medical world, where professionals use it for things such as bone implants.  This is an important factor, as it means generally speaking, it reacts well to the body. 

Surgical steel is also very hard wearing.  You can even find this material used in your knife and forks, so it is perfect for everyday use. It can be scratched but will not break easily. Also, steel does not oxidise.  This means that any jewellery made with surgical steel will not change colour or tarnish over time. 

We have a range of surgical steel items – we love how the colour of the metal really works to make jewellery stand out. 

Bioflex Jewellery 

Bioflex is a plastic compound which was the first biocompatible jewellery to be released. 

It is fully hypoallergenic and can even be a great material to help heal troublesome piercings which may have become infected. It is also very flexible, meaning it can be a perfect accompany to active people on the move either through exercise or work. 

 Bioflex is also usually generally cheaper than its metal counterparts and can act as a nice alternative for a different look to your jewellery. 

We have a small range of bioflex jewellery at our store – which you can see here.   

So, there is your roundup of different materials within jewellery. Remember, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us through our contact form and we will endeavour to help you in any of your purchasing decisions.